Until recently, coronary artery disease was thought to be primarily a disease of men. Both, women and their treating physicians consider for example breast cancer to be a greater threat of health than heart disease. This is, as we know now, a misconception! Heart disease is the number 1 killer of women in the Western world. Furthermore heart disease contributes to a large number of hospitalizations and physical disabilities in women. This misconception results in misunderstanding and mismanagement of women presenting with cardiac complaints. However not only the frequency of heart disease in women is higher than expected, but in women this disease also faces treating physicians with some unique management problems.

Since the proportion of elderly women is increasing rapidly in Europe a significant rise of the prevalence of heart disease among women can be expected in the coming decades. To improve the outcome of women with heart disease it will be necessary to increase the awareness among both women and their treating physicians. Furthermore it will be necessary to develop specific health care management programmes for women with heart disease. The Netherlands Society of Cardiology recognized this problem and together with the Dutch Heart Foundation and endorsed by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecology and the Netherlands Society of Thoracic Surgery and they took the initiative to launch a campaign focused on Women and Heart Disease.

During the meeting an international faculty will highlight the Gender specific management issues concerning heart disease in women.
The campaign entitled “Hart Alarm voor Vrouwen” will be launched officially on June 17 th, 2005 with a scientific symposium.
The meeting will be held in Leiden at the well-equipped Leiden University Medical Center. As the meeting coincides with the biennial Einthoven Lecture, the subject of the lecture will. The Einthoven Foundation is honoured that Prof. Shabuding Rahimtoola, University of Southern California has accepted the invitation to present the 2005 Einthoven Lecture. The title of his lecture will be “Women and Cardiovascular Disease”.

We look forward to meeting you in Leiden!

Harriette Verwey, Chair of the Women and Heart Disease programme
Angela Maas
Jeroen Bax
Martin J. Schalij
Ernst E van der Wall
Robert AE Dion